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Healthy SoFlo Issue 53 - Rezilir Health & their New Protocol to Fight Alzheimer's Desease

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HEALTHY LIFESTYLE · OCTOBER 2017<br />

SCARED OF<br />

BREAST CANCER?<br />

HERE'S WHAT TO DO<br />

The day began like every other: a<br />

quick shower, a bite <strong>to</strong> eat, and mad<br />

dash out the door in hopes I would<br />

make it <strong>to</strong> work on time, except this<br />

time, I never made it past step one.<br />

Here I was, a working twenty-something-yearold<br />

with big dreams, huge goals, and a small<br />

lump in my breast that had the potential <strong>to</strong><br />

wipe everything away.<br />

I was <strong>to</strong>o young for breast cancer. I did not<br />

know anyone who’d had it. I had no family<br />

his<strong>to</strong>ry of it. Yet, there I was, hands shaking,<br />

knees quaking, heart beating out of my chest.<br />

I had a lump and didn’t know what <strong>to</strong> do<br />

about it.<br />

I ran out of the restroom in nothing more<br />

than a <strong>to</strong>wel and a flood of tears and asked<br />

my roommate <strong>to</strong> feel it. Panic did not even<br />

begin <strong>to</strong> define what happened in the next<br />

few minutes. We were a mess, a pair of<br />

inexperienced ‘kids’ who thought the world<br />

had come <strong>to</strong> an end.<br />

An emergency call <strong>to</strong> my general practitioner<br />

led <strong>to</strong> an office visit, a mammogram, a<br />

diagnostic mammogram, and an ultrasound.<br />

Techs were on standby for a biopsy. The<br />

radiologist hovered nearby. I thought my fate<br />

was sealed. I had breast cancer and life as I<br />

knew it had come <strong>to</strong> an end.<br />

The consummate professional, the<br />

radiologist leaned over me as my heart beat<br />

uncontrollably out of my chest and said that I<br />

had what looked like a fibroadenoma (a noncancerous<br />

tumor). Other tests followed, my<br />

brush with a devastating diagnosis was over,<br />

but the lessons learned will forever be a part<br />

of me.<br />

One seemingly innocuous shower <strong>to</strong>ok me<br />

down a road I did not think possible at my<br />

age. I was not even doing a breast exam.<br />

A quick turn, a jarring movement, a near<br />

slip and fall and I felt a lump. My almostnightmare<br />

taught me a valuable lesson.<br />

Breast health was nothing <strong>to</strong> ignore. It did<br />

not take long before my friends, and I were<br />

talking about it, and more importantly,<br />

marking our calendars <strong>to</strong> make out monthly<br />

checks. Our lives depended on it. Something<br />

that we thought couldn’t <strong>to</strong>uch us until we<br />

were older proved <strong>to</strong> be just as dangerous<br />

for us as it was for anyone.<br />

After several tests, many appointments, and<br />

countless hours of research, I finally had my<br />

lumpec<strong>to</strong>my. During those agonizing weeks<br />

between lump <strong>to</strong> diagnosis <strong>to</strong> how <strong>to</strong> treat<br />

my condition, I became very introspective. I<br />

devoured information and had many heart<br />

<strong>to</strong> heart talks with my loved ones. I recreated<br />

myself. I learned <strong>to</strong> eat better, become more<br />

vigilant in my approach <strong>to</strong> my health, and<br />

<strong>to</strong> live a more purpose-driven life. I put my<br />

body and my health first. Somehow, nights<br />

out didn’t seem as relevant any longer. Drinks<br />

and late-night binges<br />

were not all the rage.<br />

I let go of my "devil<br />

may care" attitude<br />

and learned <strong>to</strong> make<br />

better choices. Natural<br />

products replaced my<br />

go-<strong>to</strong> favorites. Real<br />

food became a <strong>to</strong>p<br />

priority. Living trumped<br />

everything else in my<br />

life.<br />

While I hope and pray<br />

no one, no matter <strong>their</strong><br />

age ever finds a lump,<br />

I know that my health<br />

scare changed my life<br />

for the better.<br />

By Sarah Wester<br />

24 HEALTHY MAGAZINE

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